Community festivals are an age-old tradition across every country, culture, and nationality. They often arise from religious observances, commemorative dates (like a town’s founding), or seasonal milestones such as the harvest. Nearly all of these festivals begin with the enthusiasm of local volunteers and are powered by community spirit. Youth involvement is almost always a central feature, symbolizing the passing of the torch from one generation to the next. Beyond celebration, these events often strengthen local identity, boost tourism, and support small businesses.
Exeter’s own Fall Festival reflects these values perfectly. The current committee is already deep into planning for the October 2025 event—an effort that, as always, calls for many civic-minded citizens to step up and contribute. That’s how it has always been. What is the story behind Exeter’s community festivals? I was surprised—and impressed—by the boldness and energy of those early efforts. This article is my first attempt to unpack those stories. This article also sets the stage for my upcoming presentation at CACHE on Monday, August 18, 2025, at 7:00 p.m. (Please note the later start time, due to audience requests.) At that event, I’ll be sharing even more detail, photos, and colorful stories from these remarkable chapters in our town’s history.
Like so many aspects of Exeter’s past, the story of its festivals is a fascinating one. Community leaders have always risen to the occasion, bringing creativity and ambition to every celebration. The first recorded festival was in 1908, when Exeter hosted the Tulare County Citrus Fair.
The largest building in town at the time—the “car barn” at the Visalia Electric Railroad headquarters, between North E and F Streets—was the venue. Visitors and participants arrived by electric train (a relatively new mode of transportation, introduced just two years prior) from neighboring citrus towns: Visalia, Porterville, Lindsay, Strathmore, Woodlake, Lemon Cove, and Ivanhoe. A renowned orator, John P. Irish, from San Francisco gave the keynote address. Events included music, a rugby match, a minstrel show, and a flower contest (won by Mrs. John Van Cleve, with Mrs. Tom Pogue placing second). Elaborate displays of citrus and other local fruits amazed the crowd.
For several years—in November of 1913, 1914, 1916, and 1917—the local women of the Presbyterian Church organized the Chrysanthemum Festival. These lively events featured a children’s parade, music, minstrel shows, and all kinds of races: three-legged, “fat man,” women’s, girls’, and even auto races. Rugby matches were included in the first two years, but when California schools transitioned to American football in 1915, organizers adapted accordingly.
Perhaps the largest celebration in Exeter’s history occurred in 1920, with the Armistice Day Celebration. Just one year after its founding, Exeter American Legion Post 95 joined with Visalia’s Legion Post to host a three-day county-wide event commemorating the end of World War I. An estimated 25,000 people attended—an astonishing figure considering Exeter’s population at the time was only about 1,850. The celebration featured a massive parade with floats, costumed children, bands, horses, and more. Roy Gill oversaw the rodeo, supplying cattle, horses, and cowboys for events at the Santa Fe stockyards on the town’s east side. Wrestling and boxing matches, a high school football game against Visalia, and a debut game by the Exeter All-Stars (who beat Reedley 33–0 and later won two state championships) drew large crowds. That team is now memorialized in a mural near the football stadium on Rocky Hill Drive. The celebration concluded with a giant barbecue, a community dance, and fireworks. How the town managed logistics for such a crowd—feeding, parking, and restrooms included—is unclear, but we do know that Pine Street had just been paved in 1919 and was proudly featured in the parade route.
In the early 1920s, the Exeter Women’s Club took on the role of event sponsor, hosting festivals in 1921 and 1922. These bore many similarities to the earlier Chrysanthemum Festivals, given the involvement of the same women leaders.
At left, the 1931 front page of the Exeter Sun devoting considerable print to the first festival.
The Exeter Chamber of Commerce began organizing events in 1931 under the banner of the “Emperor Grape and Homecoming Festival.” One of its highlights was honoring pioneers—those who could trace their connection to Exeter before 1907. More than 200 pioneers registered, and their names and arrival years were published in the newspaper. The Chamber hosted four of these festivals before the Great Depression brought them to a halt. They resumed in 1940 and 1941 but ceased during World War II. The chamber came back strong in 1946. The Pioneer Homecoming became and remains a cherished tradition. Early on, Constable Charles Mackey helped coordinate the events.
Not all feedback was positive. In 1933, the Exeter Ministerial Association labeled the 1932 festival dance a “public disgrace” and petitioned city officials to assign a police presence to the event. Despite concerns, the dance on North E Street, attended by 2,500 people, went off without incident. While it may or may not have been an issue, the ban on the sale, distribution and transfer of alcohol was still in effect at that time.
In 1965, when Delano and other towns challenged Exeter’s claim to the title “Emperor Grape Capital,” the festival was rebranded as the Red Carpet Festival—with the theme of treating all visitors as VIPs. The name lasted seven years before evolving into the now-familiar Fall Festival, which continues to this day.